Yazoo City (MS) star Demarco Cox spent years trying to decide whether he was a basketball player or a football player. Now that he's settled on football, the next question for the 6-foot-8, 275-pound athlete is which side of the ball he'll play on.

"I can play either way but most schools are recruiting me for offensive line right now," said Cox, who is currently ranked as the nation's No. 44 offensive tackle.

Among those schools recruiting Cox for a spot on their offensive line are the Alabama Crimson Tide, along with several other SEC West programs. Cox said that he still has a long way to go before making a decision but one school has taken a slight edge early in the process.

"I'm hearing the most from Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State right now," Cox said. "I would probably say those three are also my favorites, with Alabama being a little ahead of the other two right now."

"Alabama's a great program and they really seem to have a special group of players right now. I'm definitely interested in being a part of that."

While the Alabama coaching staff and its early recruiting efforts have given the Tide the early lead for Cox's signature, the Mississippi native said that he still wants to learn more about Alabama, as well as the other programs recruiting him, before he settles on a decision.

"I'm planning to go to Alabama's camp for sure. I'm also going to Mississippi State's camp and probably Southern Miss as well. I've got a lot I still need to learn about all the schools recruiting me so I'm going to wait until the fall to commit."